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Republic-Sapphire Post-Contact Conflicts
'[ Prepared by the Office of Historical Accuracy, Ministry of Culture, City of Culture, Republic, released Quarter 2, Day 11] ' The Century following the re-establishment of direct communication and transportation links with Sapphire colony were marked by a long series of unfortunate misunderstandings, misapprehensions, and polykinetic interventions that were ultimately overcome through the persistent diplomatic and goodwill efforts of representatives from both sides. In the Year of the Republic APR 6256, a ship was dispatched to the Sapphire Colony by Republic’s Unity Government. The ship’s registry number was UGRS-STV-0089-B and it had been purpose-built to make the journey across the gulf of stars to make the first person-to-person contact between peoples of the Sapphirean and Republic Colonies in over 1,000 years. The ship was named in honor of Winona Ryder, who had courageously led the struggle for planetary unity. The vessel named ''Winona Ryder ''was a long, cylindrical vehicle of two counter-rotating sections affixed to a central drive engine. The ship took nearly a full year to reach Sapphire. It carried 100 carefully selected diplomats and cultural specialists from the Unity Government with a message of welcome. The Lead Ambassador was an accomplished woman known as Hecate Tyson Rose representing the Unity Government’s Ministry of the State. She brought a gift in the form of a sculpture representing friendship between the two worlds. The four-sided sculpture was intended to have the words ‘Friendship’ and ‘Unity’ inscribed on each side in the primary languages of both worlds. Due to a faulty translation matrix, the Sapphirean sides, instead of reading ‘Unity’ and “Friendship” read “Underwear” and “Cabbage.” The mistake was minor, but could be read as a harbinger of the many misunderstandings that were to follow. In the quarters that followed, Madame Delegate Rose and her subordinates filed hundreds of reports detailing the political, social, and technological state of Sapphire colony along with recommendations for improving cooperation and understanding between the two worlds. A consensus arose within the Unity Government that the planet Sapphire could benefit from many of the lessons Republic had learned during its long struggle for political unification. Sapphire’s central planetary government was weak and unable to resolve conflicts among its many regions and territories. Its social structure was perceived as disorganized and inefficient. It was also observed that there were areas particularly in food production and technological development where Sapphire held an advantage over Republic. It was felt that a more equitable distribution of resources would be of benefit to both worlds. However, from the very beginning, Sapphire’s citizens were reluctant to share their resources with Republic and this reluctance was the root cause of the conflicts that followed. In APR 6260, the transport ship ''Winona Ryder ''returned to the Republic System and Madame Ambassador Tyson Rose was elevated to General Minister of the State. Demographic and Cultural Roots of the Conflict At the time hostilities began, Republic had a population of approximately 330 Million human inhabitants. Sapphire's population of 840 Millions was more than 250% larger. Republic had recently established unified planetary rule after a prolonged period of intercity conflicts. Sapphire was emerging from nearly a millennium-long dark age brought about by a planetary climate shift. Republic had a far more advanced technological infrastructure than Sapphire, necessitated by the planet's harsh environment. Republic cities had complex life-support systems, the development and maintenance of which provided valuable technological insights to the development of similar systems for sustaining life on spaceships. Sapphire, wile lagging in advanced technology, had an abundance of natural resources. Its people lacked the social cohesion and respect for authority which, on Republic, were as essential to human survival as the air and water recycling systems. Conflict between two vastly different cultures may have been inevitable. The Archon Incident In APR 6436, the Republic Ministry of Resource Development executed an agreement with a consortium of Sapphirean commercial interests to develop ice mines on the planet Archon. Ice from Archon would be transported to Republic for use as drinking water and for extraction of valuable mineral salts and other chemicals. Extraction operations began in 6340, four years ahead of schedule. However, a series of misunderstandings arose regarding the contractual language of the agreement. The first of which concerned the question of extraction rights. Under the agreement, the Sapphirean consortium claimed 50% of the products of extraction for the first 10 years and 10% thereafter. However, the Ministry of Resource Development interpreted the clause to apply only to extraction activities after the scheduled commencement of operations; and Sapphire’s consortium was entitled to nothing extracted before that date. The Republic High Court of Justice ruled in the favor of the Ministry of Resource Development. The Sapphirean Consortium then filed suit alleging that consulting fees had not been paid. The contract had stipulated that the fees be paid in Sapphirean currency or its equivalent value in trade goods. The Republic Ministry of Resource Extraction argued that those terms were unfair given that the Sapphirean buck had risen in value relative to Republic Credit and that Republic Credits should be acceptable forms of payment. The Republic High Court of Justice ruled in the favor of the Ministry of Resource Development. In retaliation, the Sapphirean Consortium reneged on previously negotiated development agreements. Additionally, the Mining Guild of the Sapphire system joined in the retaliation by suspending docking and loading privileges for Republic Ships at their space docking facilities, and succeeded in extorting payments from the Ministry of Space Transport. In response to this aggression, the Unity Government had no choice but to take over operations at the Mining Guild Station on the fourth moon of the planet Colossus in the Republic System. In the spirit of Interstellar Cooperation, the Colossus Four Spaceport Facility was declared open for all ships, but Sapphirean and Mining Guild ships shunned the station. The Gigantor Incident The space beyond the orbit of the planet Sapphire is known as the Sapphire Out-System. Sapphire Colony had established mining operations on several worlds at the time of contact with Republic. The planets and moons of the Sapphire Out-System contain sufficient elemental and energy resources to sustain an advanced human civilization for tens of thousands of years. However, Sapphire’s approach to the development of its outer system was haphazard and reckless. Oversight by Government Authorities was practically nonexistent, there were no established standard procedures for conducting surveys or developing extraction operations, and no authorities to ensure that any procedures would be followed. The Unity Government believed that in the absence of explicit territorial claims by the Government of Sapphire, the planets and moons beyond Sapphire’s orbit were outside the jurisdiction of the Sapphirean Government; and Sapphire’s Government had further abrogated territorial control by not asserting Government Authority over the outer planets of the system. The Unity Government became aware of an abandoned mining outpost on the second largest moon of the outer planet the Sapphireans called “Gigantor.” Personnel from the Ministry of Resources, along with others, were dispatched to the facility which, at the time, had no controlling authority having been abandoned by the Mining Guild some years earlier. The Unity Government expended significant resources in returning the facility to functionality. The facility was intended to survey the second moon and adjacent satellites for mineral resources, as well as provide a support base for Republic Ministry of Resources ships that were barred from using Mining Guild facilities. The Sapphirean Government strongly protested the presence of citizens of Republic in their system, despite the small numbers of personnel and their great distance from the Sapphirean homeworld. The Unity Government never officially claimed the outer worlds of the Sapphire system. The Sapphirean Government dramatically escalated tensions when it passed a resolution asserting territorial claims to the Sapphirean outer system and constructed a military base on the fifth largest moon of Gigantor, as well as other locations. A Sapphirean strike force attacked and took over the facility, resulting in the deaths of thirteen base personnel. The outer Sapphire system, which had previously been peaceful and demilitarized, had become a zone of conflict. Illegal Activities Conducted by Sapphireans in the Republic System A persistent grievance of the Government of Republic throughout the period of the conflicts concerned violations of Republic law by citizens of Sapphire. Sapphire has a two-tier system that recognizes 'citizen' as a separate class from 'inhabitant,' the latter having diminished opportunity to participate in the political life of the planet; this inequality which was and remains rooted deeply in the social structure of Sapphire was a key point of disagreement between the two powers. For purposes of this report, citizens and inhabitants are called 'citizens' regardless of social standing. The complexity of Republic law was often misunderstood; the Sapphirean system is not nearly so complex or detailed. However, there is good reason to believe a number of Sapphireans flouted the law despite knowledge that they were violating it. The Government of Republic enforced its laws against Sapphirean citizens just as they would have been enforced against their own citizenry. Between APR 6400 and APR 6500 · 1,474 Sapphire Citizens were detained for engaging in illegal trade practices · 1,002 Sapphirean Citizens were detained for illegal importing trade goods or contraband into the Republic System. · 102 Sapphirean Citizens were detained for illegally exporting controled trade goods out of the Republic System. · 624 Sapphirean Citizens were detained for suspicion of espionage against the Government Republic. · 893 Sapphire Citizens were detained for violations of Ministry of Safety regulations. · 3,612 Sapphirean Citizens were detained for violations of Ministry of Health Regulations (particularly in the area of unauthorized reproductive coupling) · 730 Sapphirean Citizens were detained for violations of Ministry of Culture regulations (most often for unlicensed art or performances) · 13,400 Sapphirean were detained for violating Ministry of Public Security regulations · 12,204 Sapphirean Citizens were detained for insufficient identity or travel documents. · In addition, some 12.1 Billion Republic Credits in fines were assessed against Sapphirean individuals and business enterprises in this period. The detention of Sapphirean citizens was protested by the planet's Government and often cited by xenophobic elements of the Sapphirean populace as reasons to treat Republic with suspicion, avoid trade with Republic, and even oppose Republic's Government. Republic defended the detentions and fines as essentially to public safety, order, and good government. Detained Sapphireans were generally held in detention complexes in the City of Safe Custody and the City of Justice. A small number of incorrigibles charged with violent or severe offenses were detained in facilities in the City of Rehabilitation. Allegations of mistreatment of Sapphirean prisoners were common throughout the period. These are addressed under separate cover. Diplomatic Efforts During the Conflict Throughout the period, both worlds maintained diplomatic outposts on their counterpart. Republic had an embassy in the city of Corvallis, the planetary capital of Sapphire. Sapphire maintained diplomatic detachments at the City of Wise Governance, the City of Cooperation, and the City of Alexander. These offices worked hard to diffuse conflict and develop stronger political ties even when the militaries of both planets were engaged in acts with one another. Diplomatic efforts were further complicated by the inability of both planet’s governments to remain in contact with the other in real-time. Without FTL communication, messages from Sapphire took 11-14 (Republic) days to go from one world to the next at light speed. The Campaign for Democracy In the first quarter of APR 6411, the Ministry of State, which was then under the leadership of Minister of State Dacia Nissan (who would later become Prime Minister and Chairman of the Central Committee) issued a detailed report on Sapphirean Politics, Society, and Culture (the Nissan report). The findings of this report, for better and for worse, guided Republic policy-making for the next 50 years. The Nissan Report was highly critical of several aspects of Sapphirean society. · Limited opportunities for political participation in planetary government. The Sapphirean system of randomly selecting its legislators through lottery limited the opportunity for politically motivated individuals to have a voice in planetary government. · The planet's regulatory apparatus was very limited, economic controls were practically nonexistent. Central planning and regulation of the economy was entirely absent; leading to global production imbalances and inefficient resource allocation. · Government involvement in social cohesion was also nonexistent, with no government support for the arts, cultural development, or support for social progress. The Nissan report concluded that understanding would be increased and tensions decreased if Sapphire adopted some aspects of Republic's political culture. The report recommended a vigorous "Campaign for Democracy" to encourage Sapphire to adopt a system of an elected, rather than lottery-selected, legislature, as a first stage toward achieving the other reforms. A subcommittee was assembled under the auspices of the Ministries of State and Security, led by two highly experience Secretaries, Norris Chertoff of the Ministry of State (who had spent over a decade as Senior Ambassador to Sapphire) and Livia Mitsubishi, the Ministry of Security’s premier expert on Sapphire. They developed a careful plan to educate the citizenry of Sapphire on the mertis of evolved, participatory political government. Their approach was approved unanimously by the Central Committee of the Unity Government. Carefully trained experts began vigorous efforts on the planet Sapphire, which included lectures and educational campaigns about the benefits of involved, participatory, elective Democracy. Sapphirean volunteers were recruited to spread the cause, and, in some cases, engage in protests to support the democraticization of Sapphirean political culture. Unexpectedly, the Campaign for Democracy provoked a backlash from the Sapphirean populace. Some of this backlash was precipitated by the overzealous application of campaign tactics by operatives on both the Sapphirean and Republic sides; including some acts of vandalism and violence. Sapphirean critics described the initiative as a campaign of espionage and subversion. They cite documents that were extra-legally obtained that purport to show that the Government of Republic sought deliberately to change the mannger of Sapphire's Government into one more closely resembling the Government of Republic, of even installing a surrogate Government in place. The illegally obtained documents did not substantiate these claims. The Campaign continued in various forms throughout the duration of the 65th centurty APR. Details of the Campaign for Democracy are discussed under separate cover. Kinetic Actions Within the Sapphire System In the absence of categorical and legal assertions of sovereignty over the other words and interstatial space within its system, the Sapphirean system beyond the limits of the planet Sapphire itself were unclaimed and ungoverned. The Unified Government of Republic undertook several explorations to chart the worlds of the Sapphire system; in particular the planets Gigantor, Rook, Loki, and Fire Tortoise. On some of these worlds, and the moons of these worlds, temporary bases were established. Despite the millions of kilometers of distance from the Sapphirean homeworld and the lack of any legally binding authority over these uncharted and uninhabitable worlds, the government of Sapphire perceived the Republic presence as a threat and responded militarily on several occasions; sometimes resulting in the deaths of Republic citizens. Republic expeditionary forces withdrew entirely rather than risk escalation of the conflict and further casualties. In the case of the planet Loki, the Republic survey expedition to the fifth planet resulted in renewed fear and apprehension in the Sapphirean Government. Despite repeated assurances from the Ministry of State and from the Central Committee and Chairman Noctus Columbia, the Government of Sapphire voted to take military action to secure their sovereignty over the disputed world. Eventually, Sapphire’s Government voted to codify its sovereignty over all of the worlds of the 10 527 Pegasus system, the spaces between worlds and areas of the Oort cloud that envelopes both systems. Sapphire also placed manned bases and automated markers on each world and moon within their system as a tangible indication of authority. Republic respected this legal understanding and diminished its direct actions within the Sapphire system. Overall, this was a positive development in advancing Sapphire’s understanding of the need for codified law and authority. Incursion into the Republic System In APR 6460, an armada of Sapphirean warships entered orbit of Republic. From orbit, they transmitted a threatening message. The message warned that the ships were capable of carrying orbital weapons, and threatened the use of such weapons in retaliation for the activities of Republic ships and personnel in the Sapphire system. The Sapphirean ships were driven from the system by Republic Space Defense forces. The Republic Unity Government took quick action to improve system-wide defenses. The Defense Minister (Cumbria Samsung) submitted her resignation. In the quarters that followed, many others in leadership positions in the Ministry of Defense were cashiered, and replaced with new leadership led by the new Defence Minister, Troilus Lear. Under Lear's administration, the operational regulations for ships of the Republic Strategic Space Fleet were changed, operations in the Sapphire System were curtailed. The Central Committee issued a resolution declaring the entirety of Republic system to be "the inviolable space of the People of the Great Republic," and embarked on plans to improve the orbital defenses of the Republic homeworld. Declining Conflict and Political Change These initiatives put tremendous stress on the planetary economy. Unlike the Sapphire system, the Republic system did not have the resources to sustain the level of military expansion necessary to completely secure all of the planets, moons, asteroids, and open space of the Republic system. Even if such resources had been available, the sustainment of a large standing military force would have been contrary to the spirit of peace of understanding that was the guiding vision of the Great Republic. Sustained diplomatic initiatives sought to reduce tensions with Sapphire colony. Republic made numerous concessions Sapphire; lifting some restrictions on the access of civilian ships into the Republic system, lifting certain trade restrictions, pardoning and commutation of sentences for Sapphireans detained in the custody of the Ministry of Justice, and efforts to re-open negotiations on payment claims for Sapphirean companies. These efforts made some progress in reducing tension; although both sides continued militarizing their outer systems. Reform and Progress After the Conflicts The lost century of misunderstandings had the benefit of inspiring reform and progress in the Government of Sapphire. This was spurred by a number of developments that took place on Republic between roughly APR 6470 and 6520, an era characterized by a growing movement for political reform on the planet Republic. Some of the movement was spurred by Republic Citizens returning home after working for many years on the Campaign for Democracy; some of whom were inspired to seek change in their own Government after working so long to change Sapphire's. They were motivated by the belief that a broader, more open, Government with more dispersed authority might be able to have better relations with Sapphire. These people worked discreetly and carefully to avoid accusations of treason against the Unity Government. Using skills developed during their work as organizers on Sapphire, they carefully cultivated relationships within the Ministerial Apparatus and the Legislature to push toward more open participation in Republic's Government. Across Republic, other factions also began to demand more reform and participation; in particular worker organizations. A number of economic crises... in APR 6430-6438, APR 6453-6457, APR 6472-6477, APR 6481-6489, and APR 6498-6504 ... had led to widespread strikes, protests, and even violence. Workers organization and industrial collectives were united in their demands for more accountability and openness in Republic's Government. The Unity Government was highly resistant at first, but the elections of APR 6492 brought a record number of reform-minded members to the Legislature. Though the reformers suffered setbacks in subsequent elections, by 6504 the reformers had built a large enough bloc within the legislature to force consideration of their reform proposals. Some of the leaders in the reform movement ... Jove Lehman, Paramus Global, Titus Bechtel ... subsequently became Central Committee Chairman. The Central Committee itself was dissolved in the New Constitution of APR 6564; replaced with a Governing Council of much more limited authority. Within the Legislature, a Special Committee on the Prevention of Interstellar Conflict developed a set of recommendations to prevent future Governments from responding too aggressively to provocations from Sapphire and, potentially, other members of the Galactic Community. The most profound reform was the formation of a Republic Senate to provide a higher level of oversight to the Executive Pillar of the Republic Government. The Central Committee of the Republic Government would no longer be able to act unilaterally in interstellar matters. Combined with more effective diplomatic initiatives, this arrangement has helped assure peace in the two centuries since the end of the wars; although the Sapphireans have remained wary in their relations with Republic and, indeed, the galaxy as a whole. The Century following the Century of Conflict was marked by greatly reduced inteaction between the two systems in the economic, cultural, and political frames. Category:History Category:Background Category:Backstory